Duplicity
by Taney
Summary: She is not interested in the truth, and he is, among other things, a more than capable liar. Kuja x Garnet, Post-game AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own FF9. Obviously.**

**Author's note:** First Final Fantasy 9 fic, yay! Please give me some feedback, so I know whether I should continue. If this story progresses, it's likely the rating will go up, so be prepared.

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**Duplicity**

_Chapter 1**  
**_

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Queen Garnet gazed out from her balcony seat, a melancholy look in her eyes. Below her, the citizens of Alexandria cheered and clapped as the Tantalus players paid homage to Lord Avon's classic, _I Want to Be Your Canary_. The young queen had endeavored to remain cheerful herself—to put the past behind her as Zidane would have wanted her to do—and simply enjoy the performance. Yet, though more than a year had passed since their parting, the pain of leaving him behind had not faded, and this play she had once loved so dearly now only served as a reminder of her loss.

_Zidane, you liar_. Her eyes fell to her lap, the ivory silk of her gown bunching as she clenched her fists. _You promised me you'd come back. _

As the hero Marcus stood cloaked and hooded upon the stage, delivering his famous soliloquy, Garnet's mind wandered. She imagined that it was Zidane hiding beneath that cloak, waiting for the perfect moment to surprise her. A soft smile touched her lips. Yes, that was exactly the sort of thing he would do.

The hero turned from the crowd, throwing his arms wide.

"…I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!"

_Now, _the queen prayed silently, leaning forward in her gilded chair, her throat desert dry. _Please let it be now._

But the loud, clanking footsteps of an approaching soldier wrenched Garnet from her musings, and she sank back against the plush velvet of her seat, feeling foolish.

"Pardon me, Captain, but there's a strange man at the gate asking to speak with Her Majesty," Weimar whispered loudly behind her.

"A strange man?" Steiner echoed just as quietly.

"Yes, sir, he's got a long tail like a monkey, and when we asked him why he wanted to see Her Highness, all he would say was that he 'had a promise to keep.' What should we—"

Garnet's sudden hold on his chest plate startled Weimar into silence.

"Where is he?" she demanded. "Answer me!"

"Your Majesty!" Steiner exclaimed in shock.

"He—he's at the palace gate, Your Highness," Weimar stuttered, his eyes wide beneath his oversized helmet.

He staggered back as Garnet released him, striding towards the massive double doors that barred the balcony's exit.

"Your Majesty, please wait—"

Garnet ignored Beatrix's plea, shoving back the doors and hurrying down the giant spiral staircase beyond. Servants' heads turned as the queen practically sprinted past them, racing through the castle's grand foyer and out onto the palace grounds. Her lungs burned from the chill of the autumn air, her cheeks flushing red from exertion.

She could hear her retinue of guards and attendants hailing her, entreating her to stop, but Garnet pressed on. She splashed through icy puddles without care, the hem of her lovely dress snagging and tearing on the cobblestones. When the great palace gate came into view at last, a delighted laugh escaped her lips. She felt so light, so free, so _alive_!

_Zidane…Zidane has returned to me at last!_

Finally reaching the gate, Garnet slowed to a halt before two Knights of Pluto who were facing away, apparently conversing with the visitor. Glimpsing her over his shoulder, Blutzen elbowed Kohel, and the pair of knights promptly stepped aside, revealing the strange man who sought an audience with the queen. At the sight of him, Garnet's heart froze in her chest.

"You," she breathed, a drop of cold sweat slithering down between her shoulder blades.

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Though he had not believed it possible, Queen Garnet of Alexandria had grown far more beautiful since last he'd seen her. Even as her cheeks paled and her face crumpled in despair, even with her gown dirtied and her crown skewed atop her tangled hair, no other woman could compare.

_Zidane, what a fool you were, _Kuja thought wistfully.

As he gazed at her, the legion of soldiers pursuing the young queen finally reached the palace gate, forming around him in a loose circle at the command of their general, Beatrix. He glanced at her dispassionately as they leveled their swords against him, and could not help but roll his eyes when a large knight in gleaming armor did the same, throwing himself between Kuja and the queen.

"Your Majesty, stay behind me!" he bellowed hoarsely, still struggling to catch his breath from the chase.

"My lovely Queen," Kuja chided sweetly, his azure eyes never leaving the knight's, "your lapdog has a shiny new coat, I see, yet he still barks like a cur."

Adelbert Steiner bristled, his gauntleted fingers tightening visibly around the hilt of his greatsword.

"Silence, villain, or I shall not grant you the mercy of a quick death," the knight growled. "How dare you threaten Her Majesty's safety and disturb the peace of Alexandria!"

"I do not recall making any threats, sir knight," Kuja replied evenly, his arm sweeping out in a placating gesture, "particularly with regards to Queen Garnet's well-being. I assure you I mean no harm."

"Then why are you here?" Beatrix asked bluntly, her lone eye glaring at him in distrust. "What business could you possibly have with Her Grace?"

"Sweet General, I am but a humble messenger, eager to fulfill a promise I made to Her Majesty's dearest friend."

Steiner scoffed. "Lies. A fiend like you would never swear such an oath."

Kuja's smile was brittle. How keenly he desired to throttle the armored oaf with his own gorget.

But he had made a vow—the first vow he had ever truly intended to keep. He couldn't afford to be distracted by this simpleton, so he closed his eyes briefly, and remembered.

_The vines had left gaping holes in Zidane's chest, deep wounds that Kuja could not hope to heal in his weakened state. Yet he tried. For three days he attempted to stop the flow of blood, to knit together flesh and bone…_

_But his efforts were in vain. Exhausted, defeated, he finally collapsed next to Zidane and for a while just stared blankly at the canopy of roots and vines above them. _

"_Why?" he demanded feebly, turning his head to face the boy lying next to him. "Why would you sacrifice yourself for me?"_

_When Zidane smiled, his mouth was full of blood. _

"_Because…you're my brother."_

Kuja opened his eyes, taking a few steps forward in the direction of the queen. The soldiers surrounding him held their ground as he advanced, the points of their swords biting through the fabric of his cloak and tunic.

"Has the canary lost her voice?" he inquired in a smooth, cool tone. "Is this why she permits her servants to speak in her place?"

"Such impudence!" Steiner began, brandishing his sword anew. "You will address the queen as Her Majesty or—"

"Steiner."

The knight faltered, turning to face his queen. "Y-yes, Your Majesty?"

"Please stand aside."

Reluctantly, he complied, and Kuja found himself facing Queen Garnet once more.

"You came here to deliver a message from Zidane, is that correct?" she asked him carefully, her clear brown eyes trained upon his face.

"Quite correct, Your Grace." Kuja paused, tilting his head slightly in question. "May I approach?"

"Your Majesty, please!" Steiner begged, his sword nearly slipping from his grasp in his agitation. "The words of a madman cannot be trusted!"

Kuja paid no heed to the knight's blathering. Instead, he studied the queen's expression. Her lips curved downward in uncertainty, a deep, dark hunger slowly eclipsing the hesitation in her eyes.

"You may approach," she said at last, silencing Steiner with an upraised hand.

Unhappily, General Beatrix ordered her soldiers to stand down, and Kuja was allowed to pass. As he crossed the short distance between himself and the queen, Zidane's last words echoed in his mind.

"_Promise me, Kuja…swear to me you'll give this to her…"_

He stopped a foot away from Garnet, flinging back his sable cloak as he reached towards his hip.

"…_and tell her…just tell her…"_

"'I'm sorry,'" Kuja said, holding Zidane's weapon out before her.

Wordlessly, the queen accepted the dagger, careful not to brush his hands accidentally in retrieving it. For what seemed like days, Garnet stared mutely at the plain, worn knife lying unsheathed against the silk of her gloves. Unsettled by her cold silence, Kuja searched for something appropriate to fill the void. Something that would console her.

"At the end, he spoke only of you," he lied gently. "'Garnet' was the last name to leave his lips."

Abruptly, the queen looked up at him, her eyes hard and full of pain. In her hands she clutched the naked blade, and her pale gloves blossomed crimson with blood. Startled by the venom in her expression, Kuja took a step back.

"Seize him," the queen commanded sharply to Beatrix, her delicate form trembling with rage.

Before Kuja could react, Steiner's sword was against his neck, drawing the slightest amount of blood.

"Do not move," the knight ordered unnecessarily.

As Beatrix's soldiers bound his arms behind his back, Kuja caught the queen's eye.

"Where should we take him, Your Majesty?" a soldier asked.

Garnet turned away from him, shaking her head.

"Just get him out of my sight."

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_**Thanks for reading! Please review!**_** :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: In case you were still wondering...I don't own ff9.**

**Author's note:** Thanks to all those who read and reviewed the first chapter! I guess it's obvious I've decided to continue this story. Please leave a comment! Reviews make me happy. :)

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**Duplicity**

_Chapter 2_

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Pulling his cloak tighter about him, Kuja leaned back against the damp stone wall of his prison cell, trying in vain to sleep. Eyes closed, he listened as water dripped steadily from a crack in the ceiling—an irritating metronome—reminding him unpleasantly of his location beneath Alexandria Harbor.

"_This dungeon is over one thousand years old, built during the reign of King Alexandros I," Beatrix had remarked while escorting Kuja to his cell, smirking back at him over her shoulder when the roof gave a particularly ominous moan. _

"_Of course, nothing lasts forever."_

_Frayed though his nerves were, Kuja's lips curved into a mocking grin._

"_Why, Beatrix," he said amiably, "your knowledge of historical trivia is rather impressive. Are you certain you haven't missed your calling as a tour guide?"_

_Apart from a slight clenching of her jaw, the general did not deign to reply herself. Instead, one of her minions slammed a gauntleted fist into Kuja's stomach, and he staggered back, tasting blood. _

"_Hold your tongue if you want to keep it, monkey boy," his assailant growled, shoving him forward. _

_Deciding he had never heard a truer threat, Kuja spat out the blood in his mouth and walked wordlessly on, the silence remaining unbroken until the shriek of rusted hinges issued forth from the door of his dark little cell..._

Five days had passed since then. Apart from the near constant boredom, Kuja found that his grimy, dreary surroundings didn't bother him overly much. Even General One-Eye's daily visits to silence his spell-casting didn't rankle him. In fact, it became rather pleasant to watch Beatrix's scowl deepen with every passing day, as she returned to find him still unfazed by the indignity of his circumstances.

Truth be told, Kuja's lack of outrage over his imprisonment astonished no one more than himself. Not so long ago, he would have railed against being caged and muzzled like the lowest sort of animal, but now…

Now, he _was _free—truly free. With Garland's death, Kuja had at last become the author of his own existence, however short that might prove to be.

"The puppet has severed his strings," he mused aloud to the indifferent darkness, "and his first act of free will is to fling himself into the fire."

As he shook his head sadly, the sound of his voice echoed in the emptiness around him, changing tone and shape, becoming the breathy whisper of a ghost.

"_Kuja...you'd better not get yourself killed..."_

The genome scowled, his tail twitching in agitation. He had never expected that Zidane's parting words would be so stupid, that he would die so simply and quietly, his eyes turning as glassy and unseeing as those of a nameless black mage.

_Zidane, I'll never understand you, _Kuja thought bitterly. _If you were going to die, you should have at least said a proper farewell. And if you'd actually wanted me to live, you should never have given me this task_.

The sound of footsteps outside his cell caught Kuja's attention, and he climbed unhurriedly to his feet. Since Beatrix had graced him with her presence only a short while ago, he assumed his visitor was one of her lady soldiers, assigned the task of delivering his evening meal. As the key grated against the tumblers of the iron lock, Kuja wondered if his charm would again prove successful in securing an extra crust of bread.

Yet when the heavy wooden door swung open to reveal his guest, Kuja's winning smile turned wry. He would be hard pressed to find a woman in all of Gaia more immune to flattery.

"Back to see me so soon, General?" the genome said smoothly, his eyes glinting in the darkness. "People will begin to talk…"

"Be quiet," Beatrix snapped, the heels of her boots clicking across the stone floor of his cell in a rapid, angry rhythm. "I'll have none of your japes."

"A pity," Kuja sighed. "You always do bring out the humor in me."

The general stalked towards him, steel scraping softly against leather as she bared several inches of her sword.

"One more word," she said in a low, menacing voice. "Now turn around."

Deciding not to push his luck, Kuja did as he was told. With a little more force than he believed strictly necessary, Beatrix bound his wrists with a length of coarse rope, which she knotted no less than four times. Her task finally complete, she wrenched him around by the shoulder and stepped back, tossing her hair contemptuously.

"Her Majesty wishes to speak with you alone," Beatrix stated with a sour twist of her lips, radiating disapproval. "She will arrive here presently, so let me be clear," she said, as if deeming her habitual bluntness too subtle for this occasion. "Should anything go _amiss_ during the Queen's visit, I will see to it that you beg for death. Do you understand my meaning?"

"Oh, perfectly."

"Good," Beatrix said coolly, turning on her heel and exiting his cell, the door slamming shut behind her.

Perhaps an hour passed before it opened again, and a dark, hooded figure crossed the threshold, a pair of guards following just behind. After lighting a few torches scattered along the walls, the guards retreated with a bow, and the door closed once more.

Kuja watched as his visitor pushed back the hood of her velvet cloak, exposing the lovely face of the queen. The flickering torchlight danced across her drawn and weary features, a lingering sadness replacing the cold anger he'd last seen in her eyes.

"Your Grace," Kuja greeted, inclining his head briefly. "I would offer you a place to sit, but, well—"

"I've been thinking about what you said to me at the gate," Garnet began suddenly, stepping forward, her voice somewhat strained. "In fact, I…I haven't been able to think of much else…"

She paused, biting her lip as she turned away from him, staring intently at the mold-covered wall of his cell.

"I know that you lied to me," she continued after a while, her words taking on a sharper edge. "You lied when you told me my name was the last to leave Zidane's lips."

Kuja could barely conceal his surprise. "Your Majesty, I—"

"Why didn't you say 'Dagger'?" Garnet interrupted bitterly, lowering and shaking her head. "If only you had said 'Dagger,' I would have believed you…"

_What is she going on about that dagger for?_ Kuja wondered, his eyes narrowing. _Has her grief driven her mad?_

"Garnet is not the one he loved," she said softly as she turned towards him, meeting his gaze. "He did not love the princess"—her voice trembled—"the queen. The girl who traveled with him, who fought at his side—Dagger is the one who stole his heart."

As her dark eyes held his, comprehension descended on Kuja swiftly, a long-discarded observation rising to the forefront of his thoughts.

'_Dagger' was Zidane's pet name for her_, he recalled with a frown. _How could I have forgotten? But then, at the end, he only referred to her as 'the queen'…_

"Is Zidane," she ventured faintly, her voice thick with desperation. "Is he truly…gone?"

She looked so pale and fragile against the darkness of his cell, so perfectly beautiful in her sadness, that Kuja nearly lied to her again.

"Yes," he answered eventually. "Zidane is dead."

For a few moments, she hesitated, seeming to weigh his words, until her glistening eyes grew hard and dry, and she turned away from him once more, as if the very sight of him filled her with extreme distaste.

"How can I believe you?" she said stonily. "You lied to me only a few days ago, though I cannot imagine why."

"Why does anyone lie, little Queen?" Kuja replied, a sardonic smile on his lips. "Because the truth is not always what one would like to hear."

Garnet bristled at his condescension, anger sparking in her eyes as she faced him.

"Did you kill him?" she demanded with some heat.

"Does it matter what I say?" Kuja countered. "I believe you've already branded me a liar, _Your_ _Grace_. Perhaps the better question would be: Do _you_ believe I killed him?"

An eternity seemed to pass as Garnet searched for the answer, her flinty eyes eventually softening in defeat.

"No," she admitted at last, her voice empty.

Kuja straightened, tipping his head towards the door of his cell. "Then you'll release me?"

"No," she said again, her mouth a thin line. "You must answer for your crimes against Alexandria."

"I must be executed, you mean. Well, I suppose it's only fair."

Garnet glanced at him curiously.

"You do not wish to live?"

"Not particularly, no," Kuja replied, careful to keep his tone apathetic. "I was prepared to die at the Iifa Tree. It was that idiot Zidane who wanted me to live."

_So much so, in fact, that he was willing to sacrifice his own life_, Kuja continued unspoken, watching Garnet closely as the understanding dawned in her eyes. _But you knew that already, didn't you, my canary? So then, what will you do? Will you honor Zidane's last wish, or will you allow him to die in vain?_

"…I shall think over your sentence," Garnet said quietly, pulling the hood of her cloak over her head, casting her face in shadow.

"My thanks, Your Majesty," Kuja said graciously, suppressing a smirk of triumph. "However, with my admittedly frail constitution, I'm afraid the dankness of this dungeon will soon take the decision from your hands. If I may be so bold as to request a change in scenery…"

"I see," the queen responded doubtfully as she headed for the door. "I'll consider your request."

Before Kuja could thank her again, Queen Garnet had slipped from the room, the metal lock clicking shut behind her.

The queen considered quickly. That night, Kuja slept on the cot of his new prison cell, lulled to sleep by the footsteps of the palace guards. Though stuffed with prickly hay, the cot's scant mattress felt as soft as a cloud, and for the first time in many months, Kuja slept deeply enough to dream.

_He found himself yet again amongst the roots of the Iifa Tree, cold dread seeping through his veins as he made his way to the spot where he knew Zidane would be. But when he arrived there, he saw that the boy was alive and well, sitting upright on the large root which should have held his corpse. _

"_Hey, Kuja," he said with a wave. "Long time no see."_

"_If you're feeling well enough, we should go," Kuja replied, crossing his arms in the white silk of his sleeves. "Your friends all think I've killed you."_

_Zidane shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not leaving."_

"_What do you mean?" Kuja asked, arching a slender brow. "Didn't you promise the queen you'd return to Alexandria?"  
_

"_Yeah, but I can't go back now," Zidane said, frowning. "Did you give Garnet my dagger?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good. She'll understand, then."_

"_Zidane!"_

_Kuja turned, watching as a girl clad in yellow scrambled towards them over the gnarled roots. Apart from the cut of her hair, she bore an uncanny resemblance to the queen. _

"…_Dagger?" Kuja guessed._

_The girl smiled at him warmly as she drew near. "Hi, Kuja. Thank you for taking care of Zidane."_

"_Yeah, thanks, Kuja," Zidane said with a grin, jumping down from the root and wrapping an arm around Dagger's shoulders. "I guess I'll see you around, then."_

"_Wait," Kuja protested, but he could already feel himself drifting away. _

"_Bye, brother!" Zidane shouted after him. "Take care…"_

When Kuja awoke, sunlight was streaming through the tiny window of his cell. He blinked in the light, trying to recall the events of his dream, but all he could remember was Dagger's smiling face.


End file.
